~ Where fingers tap dance…

Why is it called mother tongue??

There is an old joke doing new rounds which I came across yesterday, for the umpteenth time.

‘Why is it called mother tongue?? Because the father seldom gets to speak it.’

You found that funny, right??

I did too.

Especially when I remembered the n number of times that father, husband, sons, other male relatives and male friends have monopolized conversations not letting me get a word in edgeways, cut me off mid-sentence and bulldozed me, telling me what I was going to say when I had not even opened my mouth.

WHY do you think I blog?? No such calamity happens here. This is an Interruption-Free Zone.

Hmmm… That sort of gives me a clue as to why there are more women bloggers in blogosphere.

Well anyways, I think the above is a question with such promise. And yet on my search all I could find was the measly single answer given above. So I came up with my own. Here goes:

It is called mother tongue because….

father is working someplace else so mother has to speak the language.

father is busy watching TV all the time so mother has to speak the language.

father has to do overtime and does not get to see the children as often as he wants to so mother has to speak the language

father hides behind newspaper to escape responsibility so mother has to speak the language

father has to have time with guy friends so mother has to speak the language

father has to improve his golf handicap so mother has to speak the language

father has to go meet his family and Momma dearest so mother has to speak the language

father feels he has worked hard and needs rest so mother has to speak the language

father is (insert any appropriate phrase of your choice)

So in conclusion, it is called mother tongue NOT because father seldom gets to speak it, but because FATHER IS SELDOM AROUND TO SPEAK IT.

Welcome to Shails’ Nest Prerna. Lol, yeah perhaps you do talk a lot. But I personally know men who are afflicted with verbal diarrhea of the worst order. It depends on individuals and is not a female condition like men have us believe.

It is also because kids were supposed to learn everything first from on the mother’s lap, if they were to grow into good human beings..but then in the modern times things have changed..for better or for good..history will decide.

Vivek, you sound serious. This is only a lighthearted response to the statement above which, yeah I admit, annoyed me. 😉 😛
I mean the least men can do is not belittle those who are doing their job and which job they are not inclined to do themselves anyways.
Actually I am not sure what your comment says. Are you suggesting that the new way of both parents getting involved in bringing up a child has its drawbacks??

I second that. Especially when they sit around drinking and relaxing in the company of friends while the wife is busy with food and kids and the snack they ordered her to get them is delayed a few minutes and they say, “We poor men are at the mercy of our wives. We don’t even get things on time!” followed by a mock sigh with the rest of them gleefully agreeing and adding to it. Pah! A daily scene in so many houses!! 😛

Its called mother tongue because it was invented by a Mother. Lets look back shall we? Way back when we were hunters and gatherers.. Men went hunting, so had to keep quiet to lure the prey. Women had to gather the fruits and berries and roots and it was done quicker if all did it together.. how do you tell others you found them…Here comes language. Yep, Mother Invented it *giggling*

Does it reallllly hv to be so verrrrrrrrrrry sexist a view ?? Why divide this world so ??? I thinkssss…..It is called Mother Tongue zzzimbly because everything attached to a being frm birth to death belonged to the mother – except maybe his/her surname (which too in ur case i believe comes frm mathru dear). Umbilical cord, mother’s milk, motherland (except in nazi germany it was called fatherland ! !! hmmmph), mother’s love (the other way too) & even in some cases – mama’s boys ! ! So why not leave it at that ??????

Anyway nice posting…….made good reading and yes did open up ppl to thinking the WHY – a la ROCK ON !!!!!!!!!!

Of course it doesn’t have to be. And I am prepared to leave it the way it was. But not when morons come up with ‘because father never gets to speak it’ and such. Someone takes a swipe at me (women in general) I just might decide to take a swipe back. 😉

The surname rather the family name used to come from the mother in our case. And we don’t have any hang ups about men staying in their wife’s house like the rest of the nation. And parents stay with daughters too. No taboo about that either. We are emancipated that way. But sadly enough we too are moving backwards with the rest of the nation and with what speed!!

Thanks Priya. 🙂 I have been checking on just why it is called so after writing this! 😉 As you know this reaction was to the above joke.
One explanation said : Because in Latin the word is “lingua”, which is feminine.
Another one says: In this case tongue means language. It is called mother tongue because it is the language spoken by the mother country in which you were born. In multilingual societies like Nigeria, Ghana and most African countries, mother tongue cannot refer to only the language spoken by the mother country. Mother tongue would mean the language the mother or caretaker passes on to the child. The assumption is that children grow under the eye of their mothers, hence mother tongue.

About this blog

When my fingers tap dance on the computer keyboard the results are either some tongue in cheek humor, a verse, a short story, a rant or sometimes mere rambling prose that goes nowhere in particular.... You'll find them all. So go ahead, take your pick and be bored to death!!

I believe

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.” ~ Cyril Connolly

The why

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” ~ Joan Didion